cece666

There are still some good members out there that want to work with others on either side of party lines and pass good legislation. However, because of the heavy lobbyist influence on the Hill this is the minority. I don't think the integrity of the democratic process can be restored without campaign finance reform.

Realistic in some aspects and unrealistic in others. Backdoor deals among politicians? Absolutely, thats the name of the game. A whole lot of shady sexual shenanigans? You betcha. People getting murdered? Not so much. Or hey, maybe I was just far too low on the totem pole to know about that...

Yes, any campaign contributions that are made under falsified names and reports should be illegal.

We may not have a great democracy but we have a functioning one - the truth is we as citizens could change things if we were united in our aims and if we protested strongly enough. But we don't do that. I genuinely believe if enough people pressured their elected officials to support certain policies, you could effectively sway the power from the hands of the lobbyists to the hands of the people. But individuals are frustrated with our democracy (myself included) - for many legitimate reasons - and usually become apathetic. It is when apathy exists that an elite few can easily take hold over any democracy - and then of course you don't have the appearance of a functioning democracy. So in order to have one, we as citizens have to have a certain level of awareness and willingness to challenge the status quo.

There has to be a way to do it. I don't think they were ever really committed to making it work.